Lately we’re not seeing a whole lot of action with the “big three” global alliances, when it comes to airlines being added, at least compared to a decade or two ago. So along those lines, there’s a pretty awesome development, as oneworld is getting yet another new member, and this time one based in Asia.
In this post:
Philippine Airlines plans to join the oneworld alliance
Philippine Airlines has just announced that it’s joining the oneworld alliance, and that’s expected to be finalized at some point in 2027 (we don’t have a timeframe beyond that). This will make the national carrier of the Philippines the 16th member of the oneworld alliance, and only the second full member airline based in Southeast Asia, with the other being Malaysia Airlines.
As it’s described, this will give oneworld flyers access to Philippine Airlines’ domestic and Southeast Asia network (and beyond), while it will be transformative for the airline, fueling a stronger presence on the world stage, increasing passenger flows, enhancing loyalty offerings, and delivering greater efficiencies.
With Philippine Airlines joining oneworld, it’ll be possible to earn and redeem miles with all oneworld frequent flyer programs for travel on the airline, and also to take advantage of oneworld elite perks on the carrier, ranging from priority check-in, to lounge access, to preferred seat assignments.
Here’s what PAL Holdings President Lucio C. Tan III had to say:
“This is a defining and transformative moment for Philippine Airlines. Becoming a member of the oneworld Alliance and strengthening Southeast Asia’s representation within the group significantly brings the Philippines and the region closer to the world like never before. Together with our partners, we will deliver greater choice, consistent journeys, and a world-class travel experience that reflects the warmth of Filipino hospitality.”
Meanwhile here’s what American CEO and Chairman of oneworld, Robert Isom, had to ssay:
“PAL’s entry into oneworld supports our long-term strategic growth and strengthens our connectivity across key markets in the Asia Pacific region. The airline has a proud heritage and will serve a critical role in our Southeast Asia network.”
My take on Philippine Airlines joining oneworld
Among the major alliances, the oneworld alliance has definitely had the most momentum in recent years. For example, since last year, we’ve seen Fiji Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, and Oman Air, join the alliance, and now we can add yet another airline to the list.
This is a win-win, and fantastic news. Up until now, Philippine Airlines has operated pretty independently — the airline had some random partnerships, but hasn’t really had too much widespread cooperation, or a cohesive global partnership strategy.
We have increasingly seen Philippine Airlines partner with individual oneworld carriers in some form. For example, for the past few years, American has had a partnership with the carrier, including a codeshare agreement. However, I kind of viewed that as being more motivated by American’s complete lack of an Asia strategy, rather than some desire to cooperate super closely. Meanwhile we also recently saw Philippine Airlines expand its partnership with Qatar Airways, introducing reciprocal award redemptions.
As a oneworld flyer, I’m delighted to have more options for earning and redeeming miles, and taking advantage of elite perks. The more members of an alliance, the merrier, as far as I’m concerned.
It is worth pointing out that we were possibly expecting another oneworld airline, but it wasn’t this one. Specifically, we know that Starlux Airlines has been wanting to join oneworld, with the company’s CEO several times confirming those desires, though nothing was ever shared on oneworld’s end.
It seems that the issue with Starlux may have been how veto rights in the alliance work, or at least used to work — I believe they still apply, but maybe things have changed.
The oneworld alliance has four founding airlines that are still in business, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. One of the perks of being a founding member of the alliance is that you get veto rights on new members joining.
As you can imagine, this can create a conflict of interest — it could be in the best interest of the alliance at large for a new member to join, while an individual founding member might not view it that way. One would assume Cathay Pacific has the most to say here — was the airline okay with Philippine Airlines, but not with Starlux Airlines? I wouldn’t be surprised, and it does seem that’s what’s going on here.
Bottom line
Philippine Airlines will be joining the oneworld alliance in 2027, an announcement that sort of comes out of left field. It’s great to see another Southeast Asian carrier joining the airline alliance. It really is impressive to see the momentum at oneworld in adding new members, especially among airlines that weren’t previously in alliances (unlike SkyTeam and Star Alliance, where the new members have mostly been alliance swaps).
More options for earning and redeeming miles is always a good thing, so color me excited. Now what about Starlux? 😉
What do you make of Philippine Airlines joining oneworld?
MNL still takes up the space outlined in Dante's first circle of hell.
It'll also be interesting to see if PR still has access to local jet fuel by 2027. The US Gestapo-initiated war in Iran is doing a real number on the Philippines' energy supplies, and if there's no turnaround soon ("turnaround" meaning opening up of the Strait of Hurmuz) it's not out of the question that fuel becomes too expensive or impossible to...
MNL still takes up the space outlined in Dante's first circle of hell.
It'll also be interesting to see if PR still has access to local jet fuel by 2027. The US Gestapo-initiated war in Iran is doing a real number on the Philippines' energy supplies, and if there's no turnaround soon ("turnaround" meaning opening up of the Strait of Hurmuz) it's not out of the question that fuel becomes too expensive or impossible to source.
While I haven't flown them since 1993 when they still offered the first class "skybeds" upstairs in the 747s that plied the LAX-HNL-MNL and v.v. route, they've always been the "little airline that could" and I wish them nothing but the best.
That certainly explains why Qantas suddenly added PR flights bookable as classic awards in their frequent flyer program.
Great options? Like similar to the way Fiji Airways award options have nose dived since joining oneworld?
It's worth noting that the USA-Philippines bilateral only permits PAL to serve 9 US destinations, and 5 of them must be LAX, SFO, HNL, GUM, and SPN.
The remaining 4 are optional, and currently consist of JFK, SEA, and ORD.
PAL can codeshare to an additional 15 US destinations, which currently consist of ATL, DEN IAH, LAS, MIA, MCO, MSY, IAD, OGG, KOA, LIH, and ITO.
So (unless the bilateral changes), that allows PR to...
It's worth noting that the USA-Philippines bilateral only permits PAL to serve 9 US destinations, and 5 of them must be LAX, SFO, HNL, GUM, and SPN.
The remaining 4 are optional, and currently consist of JFK, SEA, and ORD.
PAL can codeshare to an additional 15 US destinations, which currently consist of ATL, DEN IAH, LAS, MIA, MCO, MSY, IAD, OGG, KOA, LIH, and ITO.
So (unless the bilateral changes), that allows PR to serve 1 more US destination with its own metal, and codeshare to 3 more on AA/AS. Keep that in mind, when considering any OneWorld possibilities.
The most interesting questions to me will be (a) what their oneworld award chart looks like and (b) whether they'll become a transfer partner of any US cards.
Back in 1998 during the Asian Financial crisis, PR almost went belly up (actually shutdown for a couple weeks). CX stepped in to help fly some of the PR routes and at one point negotiated to invest and manage in PR; however, that did not come to fruition. So for CX not objecting PR's entry into oneworld should not be that surprising as they have a long history of partnership.
"One would assume Cathay Pacific has the most to say here"
Cathay's CEO publicly stated that Cathay will not object to a new Asian entrant if the alliance's board decides it's in their best interest to welcome one. I'll see if I can find the link. I understand that that's not definitive, but that's about as direct as executive-speak gets.
The biggest take-away I got from this article is that Darryl Macklem is the Tim Dunn of Philippines Airlines.
More like the Tim Dunn of AI garbage.
I find it hilarious when you knowingly write things like: "As a oneworld flyer, I’m delighted to have more options for earning and redeeming miles, and taking advantage of elite perks. "
Great options are they? From what I have read here and on other travel blogs - they are near darn impossible.
@ justindev -- Well, Philippine Airlines actually has great award availability. Whether that continues to be the case after the airline joins the alliance remains to be seen. So yes, lots of reasons to be excited, given lack of other good options nowadays.
This is fantastic news and a major win for Philippine Airlines. For far too long, the airline has been underestimated by some observers (many of which are a part of the Anti-Philippine Airlines bashing crowd here!), despite serving millions of passengers and maintaining an extensive network that connects the Philippines to the world.
For value-conscious Filipino travellers, oneworld membership will bring tangible benefits, more earning and redemption opportunities, better connectivity, reciprocal elite perks, and a...
This is fantastic news and a major win for Philippine Airlines. For far too long, the airline has been underestimated by some observers (many of which are a part of the Anti-Philippine Airlines bashing crowd here!), despite serving millions of passengers and maintaining an extensive network that connects the Philippines to the world.
For value-conscious Filipino travellers, oneworld membership will bring tangible benefits, more earning and redemption opportunities, better connectivity, reciprocal elite perks, and a smoother travel experience overall. These are meaningful improvements that will directly benefit ordinary travellers, not just frequent flyers. Now onto the main topic that seems so prevalant here amongst the anti-Philippine Airlines group, any attempt to portray Philippine Airlines' admission as inconsequential misses the bigger picture. The Philippines is one of the most important aviation markets in Asia, with a massive diaspora and strong demand for international travel. Philippine Airlines plays a central role in connecting families, businesses, and communities across multiple continents.
No airline is perfect, and there is always room for improvement, but this invitation is nevertheless a recognition of the airline's growing stature and its commitment to excellence. It also strengthens oneworld by adding a carrier with a very unique network and a strong presence in a strategically important market.
To suggest that Philippine Airlines does not belong in oneworld is poorly thought-out, moronic, and imbecilic - simply indefensible. This is a positive development for the alliance, for the airline, and most importantly for the travelling public who stand to benefit from greater choice and better connectivity around the world.
The airline is ok, it's their home-base airport that's horrible.
Thanks Pete, you’re right on the money on core point, but the situation at MNL has actually changed in a pretty concrete way.
MNL is no longer run the old way under day-to-day government management. Operations have been taken over by the a new organization under a major Filipino conglomorate, San Miguel Corporation, under a long-term concession. That is a pretty big shift, because it puts one group clearly in charge of running and improving...
Thanks Pete, you’re right on the money on core point, but the situation at MNL has actually changed in a pretty concrete way.
MNL is no longer run the old way under day-to-day government management. Operations have been taken over by the a new organization under a major Filipino conglomorate, San Miguel Corporation, under a long-term concession. That is a pretty big shift, because it puts one group clearly in charge of running and improving the airport instead of multiple agencies overlapping and slowing things down.
Since that change, work is already underway on a number of items relating to most notably improving passenger flow, decongesting choke points, and planning bigger upgrades across the terminals including in terms of concessionaires and amenities. Obviously still very early days, so nothing feels dramatically different yet on the ground, but the intent is clearly to push actual operational fixes rather than just incremental patchwork. Long story short, the airport is still the same physical space for now, but how it is being run and what is being worked on behind the scenes has definitely moved into a different and very exciting phase.
"...on behind the scenes has definitely moved into a different and very exciting phase."
Whew! That must have been exhausting! You managed to spew out a couple hundred words in six minutes! So thoughtful!
This is what AI slop looks like, everyone.
American has to be pleased that PAL is starting Chicago service.
You're kind of looking at it the wrong way. Philippine Airlines flying to Chicago isn’t really about American Airlines at all. It’s more just Philippine Airlines finally plugging a big gap in its own US network. The Midwest Filipino community is huge, and up until now a lot of that traffic has had to go through West Coast connections or partner flights - a nonstop just simplifies all of that.
From Philippine Airlines’ side, this...
You're kind of looking at it the wrong way. Philippine Airlines flying to Chicago isn’t really about American Airlines at all. It’s more just Philippine Airlines finally plugging a big gap in its own US network. The Midwest Filipino community is huge, and up until now a lot of that traffic has had to go through West Coast connections or partner flights - a nonstop just simplifies all of that.
From Philippine Airlines’ side, this is about taking control of that flow instead of handing it off to connections. It’s cleaner, it’s more direct and it keeps more of that demand on their own flights, so to put it quite simply, is just the commercially sensible choice.
So the idea that American Airlines has to feel anything about it is a bit of a stretch. It’s not like they were running Manila–Chicago nonstop and losing it. This is really just Philippine Airlines expanding its own footprint in the US in a way that makes sense for them.
If anything, the interesting part is just seeing Philippine Airlines slowly show up in more major cities globally and stop relying as heavily on funneling everything through a singular, or a handful of gateways, in foreign countries.
They just slammed the door on Starlux and I’m hoping that’s not existential for the airline as they seem to be serious about competing for the crown. PR is no threat to anyone, meanwhile.
"They just slammed the door on Starlux"
No they didn't.
Woohoo! Time for some lechon and adobo!
My guess is that CX doesn't see PR as a threat compared to JX; I read that they vetoed JXs entry into oneworld.
CX and PR already codeshare between Hong Kong and Cebu as the former is already the largest foreign carrier in the country. They could expand their relationship outside Cebu such as Clark and Davao while flights between Manila and Hong Kong remain status quo.
Aside from the Philippines, there are very...
My guess is that CX doesn't see PR as a threat compared to JX; I read that they vetoed JXs entry into oneworld.
CX and PR already codeshare between Hong Kong and Cebu as the former is already the largest foreign carrier in the country. They could expand their relationship outside Cebu such as Clark and Davao while flights between Manila and Hong Kong remain status quo.
Aside from the Philippines, there are very few destinations if at all that other members don't already serve. Saipan would be one (currently served by affiliate PAL Express). Macau and Quanzhou would be another.
Your analysis seriously understates both the strategic importance of Philippine Airlines and the value of the Philippine market.
The suggestion that Philippine Airlines was admitted simply because Cathay Pacific does not view it as a threat is speculative, unsupported, and quite frankly, absurd. Oneworld membership is not awarde as a consolation prize, nor is it granted because existing members feel comfortable with a candidate. Philippine Airlines was invited because the alliance determined that its inclusion...
Your analysis seriously understates both the strategic importance of Philippine Airlines and the value of the Philippine market.
The suggestion that Philippine Airlines was admitted simply because Cathay Pacific does not view it as a threat is speculative, unsupported, and quite frankly, absurd. Oneworld membership is not awarde as a consolation prize, nor is it granted because existing members feel comfortable with a candidate. Philippine Airlines was invited because the alliance determined that its inclusion strengthens the network, improves connectivity, and provides meaningful access to one of Asia's most important aviation markets.
The statement that Philippine Airlines offers little beyond the Philippines is equally inappropriate, flatout incorrect and qyite frankly disrespectful to the country. The value of an alliance member is not measured by the number of obscure destinations that no other member serves. Alliances exist to facilitate connectivity, loyalty benefits, traffic flows, commercial partnerships, and network reach, not as a vanity project or platform for enthusiasts to share their opinions. Philippine Airlines delivers all of those things in abundance. What is particularly baffling is the apparent dismissal of the Philippines itself in your comment - this is a country of more than 100 million people with one of the largest diasporas on Earth, generating enormous travel demand across North America, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East. To portray that market as somehow secondary or inconsequential demonstrates a remarkable misunderstanding of the realities of global aviation.
Furthermore, reducing Philippine Airlines' contribution to a handful of destinations such as Saipan, Macau, or Quanzhou completely misses the point as the value lies in access to Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao, and the broader Philippine network, along with the substantial feed traffic that comes with it. That is, of course, precsiely the sort of connectivity alliances seek to capture.
All that aside, I have never understand the tendency among some aviation enthusiasts to evaluate airlines through an excessively narrow lens, focusing on premium cabins, lounge products, or internet popularity while ignoring commercial reality. Philippine Airlines carries millions of passngers every year, maintains a significant international network, and possesses a level of national importance that many airlines would struggle to match.
If Philippine Airlines truly brought so little value to the table, oneworld would not have invited it to join. The executives making these decisions have access to traffic data, revenue forecasts, network analysis, and commerical intelligence that far exceed the assumptions being made here. The far more logical conclusion is that Philippine Airlines was invited because it strengthens the alliance in a meaningful way.
Quite frankly, the claim that Philippine Airlines contributes little beyond a few unique destinations is not just mistaken. It reflects a surprsingly narrow understanding of how global airline alliances actually operate. The invitation itself is powerful evidence that the people who know the industry best reached a very different conclusion.
Can you post a real reply rather than one written by AI?
TProphent, you idiot - your comment is honestly just a distraction from the actual discussion. If there’s a problem with my argument, then challenge my argument itself. What this really looks like is an attempt to avoid engaging with the substance by pivoting to tone and authorship instead. That doesn’t add anything meaningful to the discussion.
If you disagree, then say why on the actual point being made about Philippine Airlines and its network expansion,...
TProphent, you idiot - your comment is honestly just a distraction from the actual discussion. If there’s a problem with my argument, then challenge my argument itself. What this really looks like is an attempt to avoid engaging with the substance by pivoting to tone and authorship instead. That doesn’t add anything meaningful to the discussion.
If you disagree, then say why on the actual point being made about Philippine Airlines and its network expansion, but i'm sure you won't, so essentially it’s just noise from a pathetic, sad little BUFFOON!
I wonder how long until we see an AA Manila route.
I wonder how long til we see a decent airline that files somewhere people actually want to fly join SkyTeam?
@ Pilot93434 -- It could happen, but I wouldn't assume that will happen. AA is focused on its joint venture with JL across the Pacific, and AA's cost structure is massively higher than PR's, so there's not much point in replicating PR's network. Also, what hub would AA even fly it out of? DFW is an 8,320-mile journey, so the economics there aren't easy.
Compared to UA inheriting rights from PA and DL from NW, AA had to grow organically in the Pacific. So it was not really a focus for them compared to Europe or Latin America until much later.
Not to mention that AA doesn't have sufficient widebodies to assign to routes like this. That's also why AA isn't likely to resume PHL-DOH.
They should require Starlux to “forfeit” some level of consistent biz award space to OW partners as an entry fee. Including the front row of biz class, which definitely isn’t first class.
You should cough up and see for yourself. It's great - significantly better than anything shy of La Premier. The ground service at Taipei/LAX. is Private Jet level.